ThisIsLeesy
2024
Coming from someone whose experience with 2D metroidvanias is dropping super metroid like 5 times when i was 11 and barely getting past the 4 hour mark in hollow knight, Animal well is a phenomenal game and is first 2D metroidvania i actually beat (which is insane considering I literally beat it within the first 24 hours of its release; even if its on a bit of the shorter side only taking ~5-6 hours).
It places more emphasis on intellectual skill rather than mechanical, as while there are cool bits of tech to mess around with in this game, it mainly revolves around getting items that help with solving puzzles, opening up new areas in pre-existing ones you passed previously, which made it a really fun gameplay loop as I would go down some random ass cave for like an hour, get a cool item, then as I'm walking back to one area that I think I use it on, I find another that leads to even more cool shit.
This game also has a TON of secrets. I found myself looking through each tile really carefully to find as many of the secret eggs as I could (i think I got ~29 by the time I beat the game).
The level design is also really well done, as I was playing around with a couple friends, and we all went into 3 completely different areas and still stood at around the same level of progress, and we could help each other out if we were lost as our knowledge on how to utilize different skills was varied, which is just something insane that I haven't seen in many other games. 2 people can actually have completely different playthroughs as they can go down 2 completely different routes and try out weird solutions to problems in other areas.
This game just blew my expectations away and is definitely a must play. Its currently on a 10% sale and is definitely worth checking out if you were like me and struggled to get into other 2D metroidvanias. Its a great starting point and playing this game makes me wanna go back and finish up my hollow knight playthrough. Billy Basso COOKED
It places more emphasis on intellectual skill rather than mechanical, as while there are cool bits of tech to mess around with in this game, it mainly revolves around getting items that help with solving puzzles, opening up new areas in pre-existing ones you passed previously, which made it a really fun gameplay loop as I would go down some random ass cave for like an hour, get a cool item, then as I'm walking back to one area that I think I use it on, I find another that leads to even more cool shit.
This game also has a TON of secrets. I found myself looking through each tile really carefully to find as many of the secret eggs as I could (i think I got ~29 by the time I beat the game).
The level design is also really well done, as I was playing around with a couple friends, and we all went into 3 completely different areas and still stood at around the same level of progress, and we could help each other out if we were lost as our knowledge on how to utilize different skills was varied, which is just something insane that I haven't seen in many other games. 2 people can actually have completely different playthroughs as they can go down 2 completely different routes and try out weird solutions to problems in other areas.
This game just blew my expectations away and is definitely a must play. Its currently on a 10% sale and is definitely worth checking out if you were like me and struggled to get into other 2D metroidvanias. Its a great starting point and playing this game makes me wanna go back and finish up my hollow knight playthrough. Billy Basso COOKED
2016
This might be the most glazed game of all time but that doesn't stop it from having one of the coolest worlds in any game period, accompanied by beautiful visuals and great mechanics that only suck in the latter half of the game when half the enemies are bullet sponges and getting more than 30 bullets for each encounter is a blessing
This DLC pack is amazing. After finishing up most of the main game outside of the final boss (as I knew you were sent straight into NG+ after beating the game), I was left feeling underwhelmed. This game is full of highs and lows, and the base game certainly had a LOT of lows. Rom and Micolash might actually be one of the worst bosses I've ever fought in a game, and some of the areas were just a pain in the ass to get through. However, The Old Hunters LITTERALLY fixes every single one of my complaints with the base game. Whilst some of the consistency issues still apply, as Laurence is a dogshit boss and ruins the fun the cleric beast had for me, and the Living Failures is just a more buffed up and annoying celestial emissary, all of the 3 areas in this game are easily the best in the game, with the only base game areas being up for contention being central yharnam and MAYBE cathedral ward and forbidden woods, and the other 3 bosses in this game are easily among the best in the game, with Lady Maria being my personal favorite BB boss. While other DLCs aim to be an addon to the already phenomenal base games of fromsoft entries, TOH and also Ringed City I have always seen as genuinely essential to every single run I have done, as Bloodborne and to a lesser extent DS3 would suffer greatly without them. The Old Hunters overall is just a phenomenal DLC pack that I run in all of my BB playthroughs, as It never gets dull and just elevates BB as a whole considerably above other noteworthy fromsoftware games
This review contains spoilers
This is probably my favorite pack from the ds2 dlcs, and it has good reasons to be. Frozen Eleyme Loyce is one of the best areas in any fromsoft game, and the Burnt Ivory King is my favorite boss fight in DS2, and definitely my favorite spectacle fight in any fromsoft game. However, this pack also has what I would probably consider the worst area ever created in any game, or at least the worst area I've ever played in any game. Frigid outskirts is just an absolute hell hold, and the fact your reward is a reskin gank fight of a boss in the fucking dlc pack is just awful. Lud and Zallen is unironically my least favorite fight in a souls game (yes including BOC), and by extension is easily one of the worst bosses I've ever fought in any game period; up there with the final boss from the blade wolf DLC of MGRR, Savior from DMC4, Arkham from DMC3, and most of the bosses in DMC2. It is genuinely that fucking bad and while I would absolutely recommend someone to play through FEL and the main section of this dlc, I will never in a million years ever even consider recommending FO to even my worst enemy, as it is genuinely that bad. This DLC pack is still phenomenal, but frigid outskirts holds it back from being one of my all time favorite DLC packs.
And for the record, I beat every single DLC area and boss TWICE; once in scholar and once in vanilla. For Scholar I used summons for FO and black separation crystalled them away for L&Z, but on vanilla I raw dogged it and beat the entire area and boss with no summons. I think my combined time spent in FO is at least 4-5 hours, and you could not pay me money to replay that shit again
And for the record, I beat every single DLC area and boss TWICE; once in scholar and once in vanilla. For Scholar I used summons for FO and black separation crystalled them away for L&Z, but on vanilla I raw dogged it and beat the entire area and boss with no summons. I think my combined time spent in FO is at least 4-5 hours, and you could not pay me money to replay that shit again
This review contains spoilers
This is a big step up in quality from sunken king, but is still full of some glaring issues. The 2 biggest compliments I can give this pack is that Brume tower is one of the best areas in any fromsoft game period, and that all 3 of the bosses (yes including BSD) are all well-made and at the very least fun to actually fight. What is NOT fun in this dlc is that 2 of those 3 bosses have some of the worst runbacks I've ever seen in a game (BMS being so bad that the fact the boss is also a reskin of a great boss in the main game harms its enjoyability factor tenfold). This DLC does a lot of things right, but the run backs that this pack created just hurts so much of its replay value it's insane. Still absolutely essential to anyone's DS2 run though, as at least 4 of the 6 hours this pack will take you to beat are some of the best 4 hours you can have in a souls game
This is definitely the weakest of the 3 DLC packs made for DS2, and to an extent the weakest from has ever made, but it is still worth doing as Sinh is a great final area boss and the area is kinda fun with a cool gimmic. Is definitely losing points for the coop DLC even then of the 3 it is probably the shortest and easiest to run past. Too bad the coop boss is ass tho
This review contains spoilers
Ariandel is a fine area but Sister Friede is the only reason anyone would ever consider playing this DLC. Without her it would probably be the weakest DLC from has made, and the fact it is the same price as Ringed City (despite the fact you should play both) is baffling
This review contains spoilers
This is my favorite DLC pack in any fromsoftware game, and the only one that really comes close is the old hunters from bloodborne (and maybe crown of the ivory king if you ignore frigid outskirts). It aims to tie a beatiful knot on the Dark Souls Trilogy, and concludes it in probably the best way it could. The areas (unlike the first half of DS3) are amazingly well crafted and designed, and have some of the most fun enemies to fight in the souls series. The bosses however are definitely this DLC's main vocal point, as Demon princes, Midir and Gael are easily some of the best from has ever designed, and probably some of the best in any game period. Demon Princes especially, as they actually managed to overtake O&S as my favorite duo fight in the game, and their replayability factor with how the second phase differs is just amazingly well executed. Midir is arguably the best dragon fight from has ever made, as sticking to his head makes this fight incredibly fun, well paced, and risky as every hit or blow counts in this fight. Gael too, while I do find him a tad bit overrated by the community is definitely deserving of the praise as his presentation along with his difficulty and moveset is so well tuned it might actually be the most balanced fight in the series. Everything about this DLC is just peak and I love it to bits, as It is just everything an expansion to a base game should be.
Artorias of the Abyss is a phenomenal DLC pack that is pretty much everything a DLC should be. It has 2 great levels, even compared to the phenomenal ones in the base game, and 4 awesome bosses that push the players skill beyond what the base game wanted from the player. As someone who's first souls game was DSR (and has it tied with TOTK as my favorite game OAT), I never actually played the dlc until I 100%ed the game, as I didn't even realize it was bundled in with the remastered collection. My character was like NG+6 and I made a very smart decision in having like 60 points in VIT and 30 in strength, making me extremely underpowered and not even being able to get past the second boss. However on subsequent playthroughs I went through the dlc in the intended ng cycle, and came back later once I learned the bosses' movesets to my knowledge of them in the base game and managed to finish it up on my original character. My only real gripes with the DLC is that the final area has one sorcerer in an annoying spot, making me take a hidden shortcut on subsequent runs to kill it as I attempt the final boss, and that of the 4 phenomenal bosses, the first intro boss (sanctuary guardian) is a bit of a let down, and I don't have much personal attachment to it or get much joy from besting it. Still a great DLC pack, but definitely some gripes which hold it back from being one of my favorites in the game.
2020
This game is definitely not for me.
My first "3D" mario game was SM3DW and I'd say my first proper one (that isn't a hybrid of 2d and 3d) was Odyssey. It's still one of my favorites of of all time and one of the best things about it is its fluid and fun movement. When I got 3D all-stars for christmas in 2020 I was looking forward to a game that from what I heard had the second best movement in the series behind odyssey.
What I was greeted with is one of the worst cameras I've ever seen in a game (not the game's fault necessarily as it is an N64 issue but definitely something Nintendo could have fixed porting this game to the switch) and an extreme hands off approach when getting stars. This hands off approach is definitely in theory a neat idea, as It makes me more incentivized to go out and explore the maps which for their time were definitely impressive, but after beating galaxy and sunshine, it's simply done LEAGUES better in those games compared to this. A text prompt on how I might be able to get the star is fucking evil considering some of the bullshit you have to go through to get some of these stars. Sure odyssey didn't tell you shit, but at least in that game when I got a moon in that game I COULD STAY IN THE FUCKING LEVEL, SOMETHING THAT (was definitely a limitation from the N64 era) GETS REALLY FUCKING ANNOYING AFTER IDK 3 OR 4 OF THE 70 STARS YOU NEED TO BEAT THIS GAME?!
The fact the levels are so open also hurts me even more, as I can do some shit to get one star, see one in the distance that is marginally easier to get, get that one, and then have to do the exact same fucking setup to get the other star I was going for in the beginning. At least in the other 3D mario games I can only get one collectible so I can just get it over with one at a time, but kicking me out of the level and having me redo the same shit I did just got annoying, and led to me playing the game for a couple of hours, then dropping it for 6 months, until today where I finally decided to lock in, watch some youtube videos to tell me where to find the remaining stars I needed, and put this game behind me.
SM64 is definitely an important game. It was incredibly crucial for nintendo's and the entire video game industry as a whole's success, and it's impact can definitely be felt even today, and it also has spawned some of my favorite games of all time. However, as a game, I just can't bring myself to enjoy it as much as the other 3D Mario games I have played, which hurts, but is just a fact I've come to accept. This is a game you should definitely play if you haven't, but just not one that was made for me
My first "3D" mario game was SM3DW and I'd say my first proper one (that isn't a hybrid of 2d and 3d) was Odyssey. It's still one of my favorites of of all time and one of the best things about it is its fluid and fun movement. When I got 3D all-stars for christmas in 2020 I was looking forward to a game that from what I heard had the second best movement in the series behind odyssey.
What I was greeted with is one of the worst cameras I've ever seen in a game (not the game's fault necessarily as it is an N64 issue but definitely something Nintendo could have fixed porting this game to the switch) and an extreme hands off approach when getting stars. This hands off approach is definitely in theory a neat idea, as It makes me more incentivized to go out and explore the maps which for their time were definitely impressive, but after beating galaxy and sunshine, it's simply done LEAGUES better in those games compared to this. A text prompt on how I might be able to get the star is fucking evil considering some of the bullshit you have to go through to get some of these stars. Sure odyssey didn't tell you shit, but at least in that game when I got a moon in that game I COULD STAY IN THE FUCKING LEVEL, SOMETHING THAT (was definitely a limitation from the N64 era) GETS REALLY FUCKING ANNOYING AFTER IDK 3 OR 4 OF THE 70 STARS YOU NEED TO BEAT THIS GAME?!
The fact the levels are so open also hurts me even more, as I can do some shit to get one star, see one in the distance that is marginally easier to get, get that one, and then have to do the exact same fucking setup to get the other star I was going for in the beginning. At least in the other 3D mario games I can only get one collectible so I can just get it over with one at a time, but kicking me out of the level and having me redo the same shit I did just got annoying, and led to me playing the game for a couple of hours, then dropping it for 6 months, until today where I finally decided to lock in, watch some youtube videos to tell me where to find the remaining stars I needed, and put this game behind me.
SM64 is definitely an important game. It was incredibly crucial for nintendo's and the entire video game industry as a whole's success, and it's impact can definitely be felt even today, and it also has spawned some of my favorite games of all time. However, as a game, I just can't bring myself to enjoy it as much as the other 3D Mario games I have played, which hurts, but is just a fact I've come to accept. This is a game you should definitely play if you haven't, but just not one that was made for me
2004
The first half of this game is some of the most inconsistent mission design ive seen in a game, with levels either being kinda fun to downright unfair and annoying. The second half though makes up for it and has led me to thinking this game isn't too bad. It's probably one of the weirder games Rockstar have made, as it takes on a strict linear mission system, with no open world, compared to their other games. The shooting mechanics actually might be the best in a Rockstar game, as it almost seems like that was the main focus after taking the open world out of this game, which i can appreciate. It's definitely a game worth checking out as it is only around 7-8 hours long, but is definitely not one I am going to be coming back to any time soon. Be weary tho as some of the missions are really fucking ass
Hotline Miami 2 is a game I have a weird relationship with. I didn't even realize there was a second game in the series until mid 2023 as during a media class I had for school we were studying it as a game that was refused classification (aka banned) in Australia (my country). I beat the first hotline miami a few days ago and while I did enjoy it and was looking forward to playing the second game through some legally grey methods, I was a bit skeptical and worried that the specific scene that was one of the main reasons this game got banned in Australia in the first place was quite bad.
As far as that scene goes, it was quite graphic and definitely one of the most violent scenes in the series, I felt it probably wasn't worth the game's complete ban in the country, as the pixilated graphics and the fact it lasted about 3 seconds (and that it was taking place in a fictional movie in the game with the director saying cut just as it was about to get worse) led me to feel that the decision to ban this game was weak and definitely needs to be reappealed so people can actually legally experience this game in my country.
Despite this scene however, after getting past it, I was greeted with some of the most fun gameplay I've had in a game for a loooooooong while. The gunplay is just insane in this game and the fact I played HM1 beforehand led me to playing this game wayyy more aggresively and getting really high combo scores along with multiple A+'s only within my first hour of gameplay.
The levels, like HM1, can be a bit hit and miss, but overall the good definitely outweighs the bad, as there aren't any atrociously designed levels like the hospital one in the first game.
The story (and the nature of how it is told) is probably the part that holds this game back for me the most however. It is a game which I have to probably watch multiple youtube videos to understand exactly whats going on, as the flashbacks and flash forwards definitely make the game seem very jarring and sparatic (which I think is what they wanted to make it to be but still hurts my brain as some of the characters I still don't know where they ended up or who they are in the present time of the game)
However, I think by far this game's best aspect, along with it's gameplay, is its strong atmosphere. The 80's and 90's style was definitely a focal point in the first game, but this game just takes it up a notch. The soundtrack is iconic and hearing each track accompanied by the visuals was just a phenomenal experience. The length of this game also is just perfect as the first game definitely left a lot to be desired.
I think overall this game is better than the og. It was really fun to play and while there were definitely times I felt the game being a little bit unfair with some of the level designs, I definitely think that this is one of the best indie games out there, and a must play if you enjoyed the original.
Too bad people in my country don't have any easy way to play this game :(
As far as that scene goes, it was quite graphic and definitely one of the most violent scenes in the series, I felt it probably wasn't worth the game's complete ban in the country, as the pixilated graphics and the fact it lasted about 3 seconds (and that it was taking place in a fictional movie in the game with the director saying cut just as it was about to get worse) led me to feel that the decision to ban this game was weak and definitely needs to be reappealed so people can actually legally experience this game in my country.
Despite this scene however, after getting past it, I was greeted with some of the most fun gameplay I've had in a game for a loooooooong while. The gunplay is just insane in this game and the fact I played HM1 beforehand led me to playing this game wayyy more aggresively and getting really high combo scores along with multiple A+'s only within my first hour of gameplay.
The levels, like HM1, can be a bit hit and miss, but overall the good definitely outweighs the bad, as there aren't any atrociously designed levels like the hospital one in the first game.
The story (and the nature of how it is told) is probably the part that holds this game back for me the most however. It is a game which I have to probably watch multiple youtube videos to understand exactly whats going on, as the flashbacks and flash forwards definitely make the game seem very jarring and sparatic (which I think is what they wanted to make it to be but still hurts my brain as some of the characters I still don't know where they ended up or who they are in the present time of the game)
However, I think by far this game's best aspect, along with it's gameplay, is its strong atmosphere. The 80's and 90's style was definitely a focal point in the first game, but this game just takes it up a notch. The soundtrack is iconic and hearing each track accompanied by the visuals was just a phenomenal experience. The length of this game also is just perfect as the first game definitely left a lot to be desired.
I think overall this game is better than the og. It was really fun to play and while there were definitely times I felt the game being a little bit unfair with some of the level designs, I definitely think that this is one of the best indie games out there, and a must play if you enjoyed the original.
Too bad people in my country don't have any easy way to play this game :(
2012
This game is pretty cool. Gameplay is really fun and aside from some consistency issues with some really ass levels, the pacing is well done and the story is very interesting. It's a game you can probably beat in an afternoon and I appreciate it for that. The atmosphere is also really nice and one of the best aspects of the game. This is definitely going to go down in history as one of the most important indie games to ever release, and is a must play to someone how hasn't tried out this phenomenal game already
2012
This weekend I beat a 20 hour long game where I had crazy nightmares; experiencing some of the most fun puzzle gameplay I've had in a while, fought a demon lord and a giant fucking angel in space who later turned out to be 30 tiny aliens, cheated on my girlfriend when I got drunk one night and then decided to not choose either over the other instead going for a femboy twink, and Spec Ops: The Line somehow managed to make me more confused when I rolled credits on it not even 24 hours after beating the previous game.
2019
This review contains spoilers
(NOTE: played the game on Hard Remix (beat most levels on my own but did look up the solutions for a good few), got the Rin True Ending)
I have conflicting feelings on this game. I really think that the gameplay is massively improved, even though Classic's was by no means bad in any way shape or form. The formula is just really perfected and well made, as the new remix mode made replaying the game really fun with new layouts and changes, and the overhaul of some of the core features I felt made the gameplay all the better. For a true gameplay experience, Catherine Full Body is the definitive experience of experiencing this game.
However with that said, the story of this game goes off the rails at the end, and I believe to this game's detriment. Rin is a really interesting character, and aims to tackles the aspect of sexuality which was something (for the most part) unexplored in Classic. However the alien shit just made this game really fucking weird and confusing at the end. I think the last few levels of the game were some of the most fun I've had in my 35 or so hours playing Catherine, but afterwards the story just becomes goofy for no real good reason and ruins the more grounded and real aspects of the story. Classic's narrative was by no means completely grounded, but it at least walked a line between being batshit insane and still able to tackle mostly unexplored themes in games (especially for it's time) in a realistic and mature way. FB just says fuck it and takes a nose dive into the absurd, which my only real reaction from was just laughter at the weird turn this game took, but I just don't think was needed from this game.
Another thing I didn't really like about this game was admittedly a minor nitpick but still I believe substancial and important to the discussion of Atlus's games as a whole. The jukebox added in a lot of new songs, including some from 2 of my favorite games of all time, P4G and P5R. However, Atlus chose to only include songs from Persona 3, 4 and 5. I think this choice furthers a narrative that I've seen from Atlus and the persona community as a whole, which is that Atlus as the years goes on is slowly ignoring Persona 1 and the 2 duology. While the recent leaks by Midori of a Persona 2 remake has definitely disproved this common thought I've seen in the persona community, I feel like for the time this game released, this decision by Atlus really set in stone this belief that people in the Persona community hold that the first 3 persona games don't really matter that much to experience.
Overall while I feel like the gameplay in Full Body is essential to experience, especially to fans of Classic, I feel like the story decisions with the Rin Route and the minor point I have with the jukebox really harms this game for me, and I feel like as a full experience Classic is just better in my eyes. I will definitely be coming back to this game and Classic to explore more of the possible routes you can take, and also to maybe attempt Babel, but for me at least, Catherine Full Body is one step forward, two steps back from the original
I have conflicting feelings on this game. I really think that the gameplay is massively improved, even though Classic's was by no means bad in any way shape or form. The formula is just really perfected and well made, as the new remix mode made replaying the game really fun with new layouts and changes, and the overhaul of some of the core features I felt made the gameplay all the better. For a true gameplay experience, Catherine Full Body is the definitive experience of experiencing this game.
However with that said, the story of this game goes off the rails at the end, and I believe to this game's detriment. Rin is a really interesting character, and aims to tackles the aspect of sexuality which was something (for the most part) unexplored in Classic. However the alien shit just made this game really fucking weird and confusing at the end. I think the last few levels of the game were some of the most fun I've had in my 35 or so hours playing Catherine, but afterwards the story just becomes goofy for no real good reason and ruins the more grounded and real aspects of the story. Classic's narrative was by no means completely grounded, but it at least walked a line between being batshit insane and still able to tackle mostly unexplored themes in games (especially for it's time) in a realistic and mature way. FB just says fuck it and takes a nose dive into the absurd, which my only real reaction from was just laughter at the weird turn this game took, but I just don't think was needed from this game.
Another thing I didn't really like about this game was admittedly a minor nitpick but still I believe substancial and important to the discussion of Atlus's games as a whole. The jukebox added in a lot of new songs, including some from 2 of my favorite games of all time, P4G and P5R. However, Atlus chose to only include songs from Persona 3, 4 and 5. I think this choice furthers a narrative that I've seen from Atlus and the persona community as a whole, which is that Atlus as the years goes on is slowly ignoring Persona 1 and the 2 duology. While the recent leaks by Midori of a Persona 2 remake has definitely disproved this common thought I've seen in the persona community, I feel like for the time this game released, this decision by Atlus really set in stone this belief that people in the Persona community hold that the first 3 persona games don't really matter that much to experience.
Overall while I feel like the gameplay in Full Body is essential to experience, especially to fans of Classic, I feel like the story decisions with the Rin Route and the minor point I have with the jukebox really harms this game for me, and I feel like as a full experience Classic is just better in my eyes. I will definitely be coming back to this game and Classic to explore more of the possible routes you can take, and also to maybe attempt Babel, but for me at least, Catherine Full Body is one step forward, two steps back from the original